I vs. Me/Transcript
Transcript Text reads: The Mysteries of Life with Tim and Moby Tim and Moby are playing tennis. Cassie and Rita are sitting on a bench, watching them play. Tim prepares to serve. TIM: All right, robot. It's you and I. Twenty tennis balls pummel Tim at once, preventing him from serving. TIM: Geordi's visor. The tennis balls knock him down. A crumpled wad of paper lands near him as well. TIM: Ow. Tim sits on the ground, dizzy. He hears the chime of a cuckoo clock. Moby stands next to the machine that releases the balls.. Moby is loading more balls into the machine. MOBY: Beep. TIM: Oh, a letter? Tim picks up the crumpled paper and flattens it out. He reads from the typed letter. TIM: Dear Tim and Moby, sometimes I can't tell if I should use "I" or "me" in a sentence. Can you guys help I/me out? Thanks, Jaime. Well, Jaime, I'm really glad you asked me. Tim points to himself as he says the word "me." MOBY: Beep. Moby grabs the letter away from Tim. TIM: I know we're a team, Moby. I was just trying to give an example of… MOBY: Beep. Moby examines the letter as Tim continues. TIM: Anyway, "I" and "me" are both pronouns. The words "I" and "me" appear over a backdrop that reads: pronouns. MOBY: Beep. TIM: Right. Pronouns take the place of other nouns. More pronouns join "I" and "me": you, us, it, we, they, them, and our. TIM: We can substitute them for words we've just used. A sentence reads: Tim and Moby love tennis. The sentence changes to: They love tennis. That sentence changes to: They love it. MOBY: Beep. TIM: "I" and "me" are a special type called 1st person pronouns. They always refer to the person who's speaking or writing. For instance, I will win. Tim points to himself as he speaks. Text reads: I will win. Moby looks uneasy. TIM: Moby can't beat me. Text reads: Moby can't beat me. CASSIE AND RITA: We will see about that. Cassie and Rita are still seated on the bench. Text reads: We will see about that. RITA: Show us. Text reads: Show us. TIM: Right. "We" and "us" are the plural forms. A chart of first-person pronouns shows "I" and "me" as singular forms and "we" and "us" as plural forms. MOBY: Beep. TIM: In simple sentences, it's easy to hear which pronoun to use. You'd never say "Me will win" or "Moby can't beat I." It just sounds really weird. Side by side images show Moby and Tim on the left and Cassie and Rita on the right. Text over Tim and Moby reads: Me will win. Moby can't beat I. Text over Cassie and Rita reads: Us will see about that. Show we. A buzzer sounds, and a red X appears over each pair of incorrect sentences. MOBY: Beep. TIM: You think it sounds fine? All right, let's put it another way. "I" only works as the subject in a sentence. An image shows Tim winning a tennis trophy. Text reads: I will win. The word "I" is labeled: subject. TIM: In other words, when you are performing the action. In this sentence, "win" is the action, and "I" am the one doing it. The word "win" is labeled: action. MOBY: Beep. TIM: Use "me" when you're the object in a sentence. That is, when you receive the verb's action. In this sentence, Moby's doing the action. Text reads: Moby can't beat me. The word "Moby" is labeled: subject. The word "beat" is labeled: action. TIM: It's happening to me, or in this case not happening. Heh, heh. MOBY: Beep. Moby reaches in and bumps the word "can't" from the sentence. Text now reads: Moby beat me. The word "Moby" is labeled: subject. The word "beat" is labeled: action. In the image, Moby now holds the tennis trophy. TIM: Hey! Tim looks upset. Crusher and Bruiser are standing on the other side of the tennis net. CRUSHER AND BRUISER: Blip. TIM: Uh oh. Things can get confusing when more people want to play. You might forget who's doing what to whom. Text reads: Moby, Bruiser, Crusher, and me/I play tennis every Tuesday. Tim and Moby examine the text. TIM: Hmm. MOBY: Beep. TIM: Exactly. We need to figure out if the missing word is a subject or object. A chart reminds them that "I" is a singular subject, "me" is a singular object, "we" is a plural subject, and "us" is a plural object. TIM: There are four of us now, but we're all performing the action. We play. A circle appears around the word "we" on the chart. TIM: So we use the subject pronoun "I." The word "I" is highlighted. MOBY: Beep. TIM: There is a faster way. Just drop the other nouns in the sentence. Text reads: Moby, Bruiser, Crusher, and me/I play tennis every Tuesday. The sentence changes to: me/I play tennis every Tuesday. TIM: Now it's a simple sentence, so it's easy. The sentence changes to: I play tennis every Tuesday. MOBY: Beep. TIM: Okay, let's try another one. Crusher is serving to Moby and... Tim and Moby prepare to play tennis with Crusher and Bruiser. Bruiser prepares to serve. Text reads: Crusher is serving to Moby and I/me. MOBY: Beep. TIM: It's tempting to pick "I" when you're not quite sure. But look at the verb. Crusher is the one who's serving, and he's serving to us. The singular form of "us" is "me." The 1st person pronoun chart reappears. A circle appears around the word "us." The word "me" is highlighted. TIM: For a shortcut, just drop the other noun. Text reads: Crusher is serving to Moby and I/me. The sentence changes to read: Crusher is serving to I/me. TIM: You wouldn't say "Crusher is serving to I." The sentence changes to read: Crusher is serving to me. TIM: So, there you go. Crusher is serving to Moby and me. Text reads: Crusher is serving to Moby and me. CRUSHER: Blip. Crusher serves. The tennis ball knocks Tim over. He lies dazed on the ground, hearing a cuckoo clock. He moans. TIM: Me (I) need to practice more. Category:BrainPOP Transcripts